Amer Fort or Amber Fort, located only 11 kilometers from the Pink City – Jaipur, is one of the most fascinating tourist hotspots in the state of Rajasthan. The main gate of the fort called Suraj Pol or ‘Sun Gate’ (‘suraj’ meaning sun and ‘pol’ meaning gate) leads to the main courtyard of the fort, Jaleb Chowk, where the army used to parade in front of the king and his courtiers.

The women of royal family also observed the activities on the courtyard from behind the ornate stone lattices decorating the place balconies.

Amer Fort is full of historical saga and spectacular instances of mediaeval architecture. Overlooking Maota Lake this Rajput stronghold was built on Aravalli Hills range in time of Raja Man Singh (around 1592). Some expansions were made later by the king Sawai Jai Singh.

The palace architecture is a wonderful blend of Hindu and Mughal architectural styles. The king’s palace, the frescoes on marble walls, the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors), the garden, the temple (Shila Devi Temple) where Rajput Kings offered worship everything is so fascinating that I can simply keep talking about it … 🙂

However, the most memorable moment of my Amer Fort visit was when our guide led us to Sheesh Mahal and explained why it was built that way. He lit up his torch and focused it on the ceiling of Sheesh Mahal. It was like thousands stars twinkling under the roof – AMAZING!

Sheesh Mahal in Amer Palace

We were lucky to get a veteran guide whose bag was full of interesting stories about the royal lifestyle inside the fort and its palaces in time of Rajput kings.

The story of the royal family goes like this (as told by our guide). The king had 12 queens. There were separate sections (‘Mahal’) in the palace for each of them. The king maintained a highly confidential schedule about when to spend time with which queen. When he was with one wife no other queens would know about it. The king never wanted all of his queens to meet in one place and have chitchat. At a time only four of the queens were allowed to meet at the central pavilion (Baradhari Pavilion) at the palace square or inner courtyard. The Habshi (Abyssinian Eunuch) guards used to keep watch on the queens’ meeting from the minarets erected on all corners of the square. Imagine the sense of ‘insecurity’ of the king! 😛

I was so absorbed in the beauty of the place that I did not notice when we have returned to the outer courtyard – Jaleb Chowk. Time flies so quickly. The fort closes at 5:30 pm and it was already 5 pm. We were running short of time. Otherwise, I think we would get to listen more of such queer stories of royal families if we could explore every nook and corner of the palace.

Please note that apart from taking a tour of the fort and palaces and offering worship in the temple you can also shop from the boutiques and antique stores located inside the fort premises and enjoy elephant ride in the main courtyard.

Enjoy elephant ride at Amer Fort

Take a virtual tour of this amazing fortified town and its palace through my lenses. 🙂

View from Amer Fort:

Diwan-e-aam (the Hall of Public Audience):

Shila Devi Temple:

Chandra Pol or Moon Gate (Chandra is Moon and Pol meaning gate) on the other side of the courtyard:

Hello, Thanks for sharing great blog….which give the information about Rajasthan heritage place….lots of amazing information…Radhey Ki Haveli is a best Hotel in Khatu which provide the luxurious modern room facility, Ekadashi Kirtan, Serving North Indian food in fine dining

very nice pics…
and this blog is also written so awsome..very nice place i wish to visit rajasthan as soon as possible and want to see all the forts and want to know more about rajasthan…i love rajasthan so much..than kyou for sharing this beautifull blog and images.

Thank you for visiting my blog, Surbhi. You’ll love Rajasthan more once you visit the place. There are so many forts and palaces, I think, it will take more than a month to visit all of them. So start planning now… 😀

Hello,Thanks for sharing such a nice blog.Royal Rajasthan is not only the the land of Kings but also famous in tourist destinations in all over the India. Looking at these photos remind me why Rajasthan was so special. Rajasthan is only one of the place where tourists can enjoy with many of things such as culture, civilizations, history, fairs & festivals, Songs & dances, food, forts, temples, lakes, hills and natural beauty with adventure tours…..Virasat Restaurant is a famous place to visit in Jaipur where you get royal experience by live music, folk dance, Rajasthanithali , Ganlanding,Royal Welcome, feet Wash.

hi! great blog moon! Jaipur has lot more things under wrap than the standard touristy circuit. Despite living in this city for so many years, I’m yet to discover it fully…The architecture of Jaipur is something that I really marvel at! Let me recommend you to soak in the city at slow pace…in your next visit!

Yes…I regret that we only had one day in Jaipur which is never enough to explore a city like Jaipur. I really wish visit Jaipur again and in “slow pace” of course 🙂 Thanks to you for dropping by and sharing your thoughts that I got to know your wonderful blog. Happy blogging! 🙂

Lovely photos, Moon. I have been to this place 3 times , and each time has been amazing !Thanks for bringing back the nice memories , and thanks for the charming story of the 12 queens, which is a new one for me .

Amer Palace Garden looks so beautiful.And the about the Sheesh Mahal interior, its wonderful. How beautiful see the place in the night with the dim lights on. Very nice collection of pictures, feels good to know about this place. I don’t know how the king managed 12 wives. Must be a tough job for the chap 😀

Hahahaa… yes, he always had the pressure …at least that’s how the story goes.There were kings who even had 30 wives (heard that in Meherangarh Fort)…imagine 🙂 But I must say they were great connoisseurs of art and architecture…that’s why I could take some nice pictures 😛 🙂